How to Make a Winning Taco at Condado

Monday

Laidback Short North taqueria Condado brings a West Coast approach to tacos. Here, diners build their own. To get you started, we share three failsafe creations from a few who know Condado tacos best.

Laidback Short North taqueria Condado brings a West Coast approach to tacos. Here, diners build their own, choosing from a menu that closely resembles an exhaustive sushi list. While this interactive ordering can be fun, it also means greater pressure to build the perfect flavor combination. To get you started, we share three failsafe creations from a few who know Condado tacos best. condadotacos.com

Joe Kahn, owner

Tortilla: Kahn starts with a little crunch from the Ju-Ju (a soft flour tortilla wrapped around a hard corn shell with queso and house-made chorizo as the glue).

Protein: Thai Chili Tofu. "I love our tofu," Kahn says. "We give it a good fry so it's crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside and has a little heat from the Thai chili sauce." He splurges the extra buck for sticky cilantro-lime white rice to give the taco added bulk.

Toppings: Among veggie choices, Kahn keeps it simple with cilantro and onions.

Cheese: Next comes Middlefield Smoked Cheddar.

Salsa: Pick one that complements, or choose to scale back, Kahn says. He goes for corn salsa with tomatoes and peppers.

Sauce: Kahn goes off-menu with a kitchen favorite: the house Dirty Sauce. "I like a lot of heat, and it's one of our hotter sauces," he says.